While his presence is already well known in Bowling Green, Dale Augenstein is about to have another foothold in the community.

The 1981 WKU graduate is purchasing the former Mariahs restaurant building on State Street. Over the next several months, Augenstein will work to convert the building into a second location for his Steamer Seafood restaurant.

Augenstein has become reattached to WKU and Bowling Green, where he has many friends and family in the surrounding area.

I thought, if Im going to be in Bowling Green this often, I might as well start a business, Augenstein said.

While Augenstein started the first Steamer Seafood in Hilton Head, South Carolina in the early 90s, the opening of the Bowling Green restaurant wont be the first time that Augensteins brand of seafood has been served in town. For the past three years, Augenstein has been serving his food in the Big Red tent at basketball games.

Once we started serving our concession food, people were asking when we would start a restaurant here, Augenstein said.

Over several years, Augenstein began a search for the ideal location to house his restaurant. Finally, once the former Mariahs restaurant building was put up for sale, his idea became much more feasible.

When the Mariahs facility became available, that piqued my interest tremendously, Augenstein said.

Mariahs success in that location, over the past three decades, has provided a wonderful opportunity to showcase our product, he said. After completing an interior redesign and construction, Augenstein hopes to open the Bowling Green Steamer Seafood on Sept. 1, 2015.

At the Hilton Head restaurant, Augenstein said they focus on serving the freshest food possible while providing an fun-filled atmosphere, including acoustic entertainment. He said they will attempt to replicate as much as they can for the Bowling Green location.

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WKU alumnus buys former Mariahs restaurant

Restaurant Equipment
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Restaurant Equipment - Video

MUKWONAGO, WI When the Gatlinburg, TN, Hard Rock Caf announced its move to nearby Pigeon Forge, they let the community know that the restaurant would not only be expanding, but refreshing its image. An exterior sign with Banker Wire mesh combines a modern look with the restaurant's familiar logo.

The Hard Rock Caf has had a restaurant in Eastern Tennessee for more than 14 years. It announced the move from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge in February 2014. A desire for a larger space and free parking motivated the relocation, but the restaurant also presents a more contemporary look in its new space. The 12,000-square-foot building seats 302 guests and offers a private event space and a live music stage.

Designers of the space specified woven wire mesh to serve as a modern backdrop to the familiar Hard Rock Caf logo featured on the exterior sign. General contractor VWCA Construction, Madisonville, Tennessee, directed them toward Banker Wire mesh.

"Banker Wire was more competitive in pricing than the other companies being considered by the design team," says Joshua Croft, of VWCA Construction. "Banker Wire's determination to assist me instilled confidence in specifying their product."

Banker Wire S-15 mesh was hoisted 40 feet in the air for its installation. The S-15 pattern, situated behind the restaurant's logo, features a wide flat wire that is crimped in continuous waves. The undulating stainless steel wire reflects the neon of the Hard Rock Caf's sign, helping the restaurant's exterior exude excitement.

The Pigeon Forge Hard Rock Caf opened in May 2014.

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Banker Wire Mesh Helps Tennessee Hard Rock Caf Begin Next Act

Coopers seafood restaurant in Pittston is for sale for $1.5 million, but owner Jack Cooper said business is great, it is not closing and hes not in a hurry to sell it.

Cooper, 61, said he and his 60-year-old brother Paul have been in the restaurant business since they were 9 years old and they want more time off to spend with their families and to take a vacation.

While the landmark Pittston restaurant is listed for sale for $1.5 million on the Greater Wilkes-Barre Association of Realtors website, Cooper said if he does not get that amount, he wont sell it. If the right person comes along, Cooper said he would sell the Pittston restaurant so they could have more time for themselves.

The Coopers also operate a seafood restaurant in Scranton that he said they are not selling. Their father, John Cooper, started the Scranton restaurant in 1948.

Coopers seafood restaurant at 304 Kennedy Blvd. in Pittston was owned and operated by the Cooper family since 1992. Jack and Paul Cooper work at the Pittston and Scranton restaurants.

The restaurant business is seven days a week. Anyone who works in the restaurant business could tell you that, Cooper said. Its a lot of work having two major businesses that do millions of dollars each in business. I want to go on a vacation like a normal person but were going to continue to run that (Scranton) restaurant.

More than 60 full-time and part-time employees work at the Pittston restaurant and more than 120 work at the Scranton restaurant, Cooper said.

Cooper said if he does sell the Pittston location, he hopes someone would continue to operate the restaurant.

I love the Pittston location, Cooper said. Its in great shape. Theres a gorgeous view and its busy.

Charles Adonizio of Atlas Realty, which is selling the property, would not comment.

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Coopers Pittston location for sale, not closing

LIBERTY TWP.

Steiner + Associates announced Tuesday the next restaurant and a comedy club to open at Liberty Center, the approximately $350 million mixed-use project under construction now at the Interstate 75, Ohio 129 and Liberty Way interchange in Liberty Twp.

Flip Side and The Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant will join Brio Tuscan Grille, Cheesecake Factory, Kona Grill and Pie & Pints in the tenant mix, according to Anne Mastin, executive vice president for the projects developer Steiner.

Flip Side is a chef-driven burger, shake and craft beer concept using exclusively Ohio raised, grass-fed beef. The Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant offers stand-up comedy in a showroom along with a complete menu of food and drinks, according to Steiner.

We are pleased to welcome these new tenants to Liberty Center, said Yaromir Steiner, chief executive officer of Steiner + Associates. As we get closer to our opening date in October, we will continue to announce a mix of diverse and exciting retail and entertainment tenants.

Liberty Center is slated to open in October this year.

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Liberty Center names two new tenants

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio - A Funny Bone Comedy Club and a Flip Side gourmet burger restaurant are the latest tenants coming to Liberty Center, the $350 million mixed-use project under construction in Butler County.

An executive with the Columbus-based co-developer of the project identified the tenants in a speech Tuesday to Commercial Real Estate Women of Greater Cincinnati.

Restaurants are important to the project because they really for us act as another anchor, AnneMastin, executive vice president for retail real estate at Steiner + Associates, said in an interview with WCPO following her talk. It brings shoppers into the center that are not competitive with specialty retailers. It brings people in that spend a long time in the project.

Mastin said a pair of new to the market restaurants will be announced in the next few months. A steakhouse and Mexican restaurant will be on the ground floor of the AC Marriott Hotel property, one of several key Liberty Center attractions previously announced.

The 65-acre project at I-75 and Ohio 129 will include a Dillards department store, the regions largest Dicks Sporting Goods store, along with the regions first Kona Grill, a 13-screen Cobb Theatres CineBistro and an AC Marriott Hotel.

An October 8 opening date has been announced for the project, which is modeled on Easton Towne Center near Columbus.

A press release describes Flip Side as a chef-driven burger, shake and craft beer concept using exclusively Ohio raised, grass-fed beef. The comedy club at Liberty Center will be the 11th Funny Bone location, featuring a complete menu of food and drinks.

Mastin is a 20-year veteran leasing executive who has filled more than two-dozen retail centers in her career. Mastin said restaurant tenants generated more than $100 million in revenue at Easton Towne Center last year, more than any department store anchor.

Liberty Center will have 62,000 square feet of restaurant space in its first phase.

It is a very good time for the restaurant business in America because of a lot of reasons that are macro-economic, shesaid. Gas prices are down. People feel they have more disposable income to go out for dinner. You cant buy your nightly meal off of the Internet.

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Gourmet burger joint headed to Liberty Center

LYNN Richard F. Sullivan is ready to set Lynn on fire with his new burger restaurant scheduled to open in less than a month, and to prove his point he made sure R.F. OSullivans includes a fireplace encased in a window where Sutton Street meets Central Avenue.

Ive always loved two-sided fireplaces, so I put one in here, he said.

Sullivan, a Swampscott resident, has pegged the end of this month or early March as the opening date for his new restaurant. With its marine mahogany exterior walls varnished to a golden-red glow and the restaurants interior almost finished, Sullivan is looking forward to becoming the citys latest culinary addition.

Its a great location. I hear people say Lynn is moving, and I have the same feeling about the city, he said.

With a capacity of 88 customers, R.F. OSullivans will offer 30 to 40 different types of burgers, as well as custom-made burgers, with the menu taking a cue from Sullivans Somerville eatery R.F. OSullivan and Son. He also plans to feature 50 to 60 craft beers.

Sullivans Somerville restaurant was formerly called O. Henrys. Sullivan started working there as a bartender in 1975, building on the restaurant skills he learned growing up on Long Island in New York. He bought the O. Henry property in 1991 at a time when people were telling him that a business investment in now-popular Somerville was crazy.

I made the best burger. I made sure the meat was fresh and that quality and consistency were key, he said.

The same hunch that led him to invest in Somerville prompted Sullivan last year to offer Lynn city officials a bid to revitalize 143 Central Ave., the site of a former bar that became city property in a 2013 tax taking.

It was an intense process they went through my whole history, Sullivan said.

He paid $150,000 for the building and began renovation work last year with Nahant-based JP Construction undertaking the exterior wood paneling and interior work that included a marble slab floor and custom-built bar and booth tables.

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New Lynn burger spot putting on the fixings

Despite the fanfare and buzz surrounding Canalside, and the optimism of state officials, only one real estate developer submitted a bid to handle the construction of a proposed new waterfront building that would house the new Explore & More Childrens Museum, a tourist facility and a possible restaurant.

Details surrounding the proposal were not available, as no final decision has been made, and no final time frame has been given.

Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. officials would not even disclose the identity of the bidder, saying the request for proposals process was still underway, and they were in discussions with the interested company.

Im not free to say who it is, but were having negotiations right now, said Tom Dee, president and CEO of Erie Canal Harbor Development, a subsidiary of Empire State Development Corp., the states economic development agency. Im not sure that it is public information.

Thats nonsense, says Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government in Albany, itself a part of the governments Department of State.

The identity of the submitter is unquestionably public, Freeman said, rejecting the idea that being in negotiations means the harbor agency cant disclose a name.

Specific details of a proposal might be different, he said, since they could reveal financial information or competitive techniques. But even an overall price tag for the proposal shouldnt be confidential, because its still subject to negotiations and could change, Freeman said. And in this case, theres only one bidder anyway.

The apparent lack of interest in constructing the 100,000-square-foot building on the South Aud Block of Canalside raises questions about just how successful the effort will be, and whether something is wrong with the process or requirements imposed on developers.

In particular, key design features were already set in place, limiting flexibility. The general plan as already outlined by architects calls for the Explore & More museum to relocate from East Aurora to 40,000 square feet in the new facility really a set of three buildings on a parcel sandwiched between the new canals, Main Street and Marine Drive.

Historical streets would be reconstructed for pedestrian use. The complex would also include a new 1,571-square-foot Canalside Information Center with bathrooms, plus the Erie Canalway Trail Plaza and basement space to house the mechanical equipment for the Ice at Canalside. The remainder of the complex would be a mixed-use facility, including a three-story restaurant with 15,900 square feet at the north end and some possible space for apartments, offices or other retail use. Speculation has focused on higher-end restaurants.

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Little interest in Canalsides Explore & More project

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Matt Schmidt at the downtown Milwaukee Water Street Brewery.

Schmidt owns four bars and restaurants on or near Water Street in downtown Milwaukee, including Water Street Brewery. He has four other establishments in Milwaukee and three suburban restaurants, including Water Street Brewery locations in Grafton and Delafield. Water Street Brewery also has a major presence at Summerfest and the Wisconsin State Fair.

Schmidt still owns the first establishment he bought in Milwaukee, RC's Bar at 1530 E. North Ave., which he took on in 1974. The success of RC's was the beginning of an entrepreneurial journey that has led Schmidt to expand his business over and over again.

Matt Schmidt speaks with Vagabonds executive chef, Ramses Alvarez.

He works every day, Matt said. No doubt he is going to be working for a while. Part of it is because he loves it. But Matt, 35, is increasingly becoming the public face of the business.

I think I have that same passion, too, Matt said. I love doing this. My favorite part is being in the places, especially when its busy, and seeing us take great care of people.

The Schmidts are always looking for growth opportunities. They recently completed a major restaurant makeover project and are building another new restaurant.

Rudys Mexican Restaurant, which R.C. Schmidt bought in 2000 and moved from the citys Walkers Point neighborhood to 1122 N. Edison St. near Water Street, was recently renovated and renamed Vagabond. It re-opened in mid-December. The highlight of the renovation was the use of a pair of Airstream trailers that were gutted and built into the two bars of the restaurant.

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Beyond Water Street: Schmidt restaurant empire heads south to Oak Creek

During the six weeks the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium has been closed, crews cleared out 1,000 fish from the giant saltwater tank to refurbish it, started construction on a large new restaurant and put together a healthier menu.

The zoo and aquarium will reopen to the public Feb. 14, although visitors will have to wait awhile to enjoy the new restaurant and see the giant aquarium.

The sea life is gone from the large saltwater tank that sits in the middle of PPG Aquarium, leaving behind a fishy smell. Crews are revamping the Big Ocean tank, which usually holds 100,000 gallons of saltwater and 1,000 fish of multiple species and sizes. The tank was drained in December so crews could re-coat the walls with an epoxy material, said Bradley Smith, director of construction management at the zoo.

Big Ocean is 14 years old and needs to be recoated because the saltwater took a toll on the old coating, he said. Crews plan to add new coral to improve the decor of the tank, and add new lighting.

Dwayne Biggs, curator of aquatic life at the aquarium, said crews would make a fresh batch of saltwater out of synthetic sea salt to refill the tank, which is expected to be ready by the end of March.

Mr. Smith pointed out a small area within the tank he called Little Ocean, where the small fish hide from sharks and groupers when they get too aggressive. The fish have now been separated into temporary holding tanks spread throughout the zoo. It took about two months to remove and transport them, Mr. Biggs said.

The aquariums two big groupers are out on loan to other aquariums in the area, and required specially designed stretchers and nets to safely move them to transport tanks the larger grouper weighs about 300 pounds.

Most of the other fish are in the quarantine room, where fish new to the aquarium stay for 30 days when they arrive. The room also holds about a half-dozen holding tanks. One tank is 5,000 gallons, and houses sharks, Mr. Biggs said. The largest holding tank holds about 15,000 gallons of water, and Mr. Biggs said there were various other smaller tanks elsewhere in the aquarium to fit the fish.

The restaurant, Jambo Grill, will be the zoos largest at 7,000 square feet. It is near the Safari Grill and replaces a cheetah holding building and two smaller restaurants that served pizza and French fries. Construction began in October, although it slowed the past two weeks due to the cold, Mr. Smith said. It is expected to be completed by Memorial Day.

The restaurants patio faces the area housing elephants, zebras, giraffes and cheetahs. Jambo Grills structure will have a safari theme, with wood paneling and a steep ceiling, and will accommodate 300 people, split between 160 indoor seats and 140 outdoors.

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Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to reopen Saturday